The Jorvik Chronicle

The story chronicles the life of a young Anglo-Saxon boy, Osgar, who is captured by raiding Vikings, who eventually becomes a seer-warrior in his new life. Unheard of? The story is set against the backdrop of the 9th-century struggle between Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings, the latter evolving from raiders to invaders, for control of these lands. After years of conflict there followed a period of compromise that saw the country split into the first north-south divide: Anglo-Saxon England and Danelaw. That arrangement eventually developed into England where two nations became one. Osgar, later Sigrvard, is the embodiment of two becoming one, Anglo-Saxon and Viking becomes English. The story is one of conquest and fantasy, loyalty and betrayal, men and gods. It is also a tale of exploration and expansion that extended Europe to all points of the compass: first travellers to the New World, southern expansion to Africa, eastwards to the Orient, arguably making the Vikings the world's first imperial power. And all placed on record in the rarest of rare, a 9th-century document discovered on the outskirts of York, Jorvik, the capital of Viking England... The Jorvik Chronicle.

About the Author :
BILL NESBITT Bill was heading for a career in academia as befitted a man whose long list of talents included: being a published author, musician and singer, travel writer, one-time member of the American Screen Actors Guild, linguist, Master of Martial Arts. However, whilst at University, he was recruited by Her Majesty's Government and spent a career in intelligence, serving his country in a role not even his family knew about. It was a role to which he sacrificed body and soul, literally. Broken in body but not spirit in the service of his country, even when Colonel William Nesbitt retired he was not on the public Census and no medical records existed for him from 1948 to 2002. Bill covered the full spectrum when it comes to creativity. A Whitby-born native Yorkshireman, he began writing poetry and fiction as a very talented schoolboy. He diversified into song writing and folk-singing before he became a widely respected author, penning such respected works as Last of the Cold War Warriors, Last of the Cold War Warriors II, The Kyushu Contract and When Twilight Ends, under his pen name Sean Collins. His expertise in the world of travel writing came to the fore, under his own name, with Travails Abroad, a brilliantly funny account of disasters abroad. He also found time to become a world-renowned artist with exhibitions all over the globe. In fact, Bill could do pretty much anything when it came to creativity, except finish his lifetime passion, The Jorvik Chronicle. Sadly, Bill died in 2017. In 2019 a friend, Brian Beard, suggested finishing what Bill had started. His widow Jenny agreed and the result is the collaborative work, The Jorvik Chronicle. BRIAN BEARD The Jorvik Chronicle is Brian's first novel. A former history teacher, he is an experienced football writer, broadcaster and historian, with more than a dozen autobiographies under his belt. His bibliography includes: The Breedon Book of Premiership Records, The Three Lions, On This Day, Aston Villa and Collins Gems Disaster Survival. He has written football autobiographies for: Kenny Swain, Don Goodman and John Ward. Formerly a 'ghost writer' for George Best, Brian is a well-known broadcaster and football historian and is Associate Historian to the Football Association and member of the Association of Football Statisticians. He is the longest serving football reporter for Sky Sports with well over 1,200 games plus another 1,250 or so for many regional and national media outlets. This debut novel allowed Brian to indulge in his twin passions of history and writing as he picked up the baton that was so tragically dropped by Bill Nesbitt.